426/457; 426/808. Int. Cl... A23L 1/10 457, se. 5 Ky. s: (x) . & 3xxxx. 5 xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx. t & Dough providing chips sixxxx.

Transcription

1 United States Patent to Liepa 11, 3,998, Dec. 21, ) 75 73) 22 (21) 63 (52) (51) 58 POTATO CHIP PRODUCTS AND PROCESS FOR MAKNG SAME Inventor: Alexander L. Liepa, Montgomery, Ohio Assignee: The Procter & Gamble Company, Cincinnati, Ohio Filed: Aug. 2, 1974 Appl. No.: 493,821 Related U.S. Application Data Continuation of Ser. No. 62,175, Aug. 7, 1970, abandoned, which is a continuation of Ser. No. 724,662, March 18, 1968, abandoned, which is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 581,9, Sept. 26, 1966, abandoned. U.S. Cl /0; 426/5; 426/637; 426/441; 426/446; 426/456; 426/457; 426/808 Int. Cl.... A23L 1/10 Field of Search /343, 346, 372, , 426/549, 0, 5, 637, 445, 446,4, 456, 457, ) References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,282,704 8/1968 Fritzberg /441 3,297,450 l/1967 Loska /441 3,396,036 8/1968 Liepa /637 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 985,808 3/19 United Kingdom Primary Examiner-Norman Yudkoff Assistant Examiner-Martin G. Mullen Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Louis G. Xiarhos 57 ABSTRACT A potato chip product and process wherein a dough is prepared from dehydrated cooked potatoes and water and subsequently fried. The dough has an iodine index of from about 0.01 to about 6 and a lipid content of from 0 to about 6%, by weight. 11 Claims, 1 Drawing Figure O PLOT OF POTATO LIPID AND ODINE INDEX MEASUREMENTS (LOGARITHMIC coordinates) 2 se 5 Ky s: (x). & s 3xxxx - f & 5 xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx t & Dough providing chips sixxxx s 2 xxx's ey& & DEHYDRATED POTATO IODNE INDEX-X

2

3 1. POTATO CHIP PRODUCTS AND PROCESS FOR MAKING SAME CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of copending appli cation Ser. No. 62,175, filed Aug. 7, 1970 now aban doned, which is a continuation of now-abandoned ap plication Ser. No. 724,662, filed Mar. 18, 1968, which in turn is a continuation-in-part of now-abandoned application Ser. No. 581,9, filed Sept. 26, BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to crisp, tasty, fried, formu lated potato chip products prepared from a dough com prising dehydrated cooked potatoes and water, and to a process for making formulated potato chip products. Conventional potato chips are prepared by deep fat frying thin slices of peeled raw potatoes. The raw pota toes must be stored in an unpeeled and unsliced condi tion until they are to be processed because the cut surfaces of the raw potatoes tend to darken as a result of the reaction of the enzymes in the potatoes with air. In addition, the potatoes must be stored under con trolled temperature conditions so that they do not de velop sprouts and so that the reducing sugar content can be maintained at a low level to prevent premature or excessive browning of the potatoes when they are deep fat fried. The chips which result from frying slices of raw potatoes can be quite variable since there is considerable variation between potatoes of different varieties in terms of their flavor, reducing sugar con tent, and potato solids content, each of which has an important effect on the flavor and appearance of the fried chips. Additionally, chips so prepared must be fried for from about 1 to about 3 minutes, a not incon siderable time period, and the resulting chips have a rather high fat content of from about % to about 50%, by weight. Heretofore it has been proposed to eliminate or mini mize the foregoing handling problems and variations in the appearance of potato chips by making a homoge neous mixture of potato solids and water suitable for 3,998,975 deep fat frying by either reducing the particle size of 45 raw potatoes or by using dehydrated cooked potatoes to form a dough. These methods have generally in cluded the addition to the dough of binder materials to form a supporting gel so that the product will maintain its shape during subsequent stages of processing. They 50 have also required drying the homogeneous mixture to a low moisture level suitable for subsequent frying. For example, Markakis et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 3,027,8, granted Mar. 27, 1962, disclose a method of producing a synthetic, chip-type product from a mixture of pre cooked instant dried potatoes, dry vital gluten, gelati nized waxy maize, fat (in the form of shortening or oil), and chilled water. These ingredients are admixed to form a dough which is shaped and then fried. The dry vital gluten and gelatinized waxy maize, which are non potato ingredients, comprise over 50% of the dry com ponent of the dough and the resulting product thus has less of the desirable potato flavor than it would if the dry component was based on substantially 100% pota toes. The dough formed has a moisture content of be tween % 100% of the dry ingredients, by weight. After being cut into pieces of the desired shape for frying, the cut pieces are dried to reduce their moisture O 15 2 content to below 15%, presumably to allow the cut pieces to maintain their shape during frying. The drying step requires additional equipment, thereby increasing the processing cost. Similarly, Backinger et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 3,085,0, granted Apr , teach a method of making a french fried potato product by using dehydrated cooked mashed potatoes which have been rehydrated. A necessary ingredient of the composition is methyl cellulose, which is added to the potato-water mixture to bind the potato solids together during deep fat frying. It has been deemed desirable to eliminate the need for non-potato binder ingredients to provide a formulated potato chip based substantially completely on potatoes. In addition to the patents discussed above, British Patent 8,996 also discloses the use of binders in connection with mixtures of dehydrated cooked pota toes and water. The teachings of that patent are general in nature and apparently do not provide a product that closely resembles conventional potato chips in appear ance, texture, flavor, and eating quality. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Briefly stated, the present invention provides a pro cess for preparing formulated potato chips which com prises intimately admixing dehydrated cooked potatoes with water to form a dough, forming the dough into shaped pieces, and frying the pieces until they are crisp. The invention also provides the potato chip products which result from carrying out this process. The dehy drated cooked potatoes must have an iodine index (a measure of the concentration of free starch) of from about 0.01 to about 6. The lipid content of the dough is also important and is defined by the relationship Y = AX', where Y is the lipid content of the dough in percent by weight of dehydrated cooked potatoes, X is the iodine index of the dehydrated cooked potatoes which ranges from about 0.01 to about 6, and A is equal to or less than A dough which can be shaped and fried to a crisp, tasty state resembling con ventional potato chips made by frying slices of raw potatoes cannot be made unless the iodine index of the dehydrated cooked potatoes and the lipid content of the mixture conform to this relationship. The dehy drated cooked potatoes are intimately admixed with water to form a coherent, workable, potato-based dough having a total water content of from about % to about % by weight. The dough is formed into pieces of the desired shape without drying and the pieces are deep fat fried to provide crisp, tasty potato chips. This invention, provides an improved, formulated potato chip product which is made from a dough com prising dehydrated cooked potatoes and water and which closely resembles, e.g., in appearance, texture, flavor and eating quality, conventional potato chips made from slices of raw potato. This invention also provides a process for preparing deep fat fried potato chips from a dough which com prises dehydrated potatoes and water, without drying the dough prior to the deep fat frying step, and without adding to the dough any non-potato ingredients to act as binders as the prior art teaches. Furthermore, the present invention provides a potato chip having a fat content of only from about 15% to about % as compared with the % to 50% fat of conventional chips, and provides a chip that can be fried for from about 5 to about seconds, preferably

4 3 from about 5 to about seconds, as compared with the 1 to 3 minutes required to fry conventional chips. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING In the accompanying drawing, the relationship be tween the lipid content of the mixture in percent by weight of dehydrated cooked potatoes and the iodine index of the dehydrated cooked potatoes is presented graphically and shows the combinations of lipids and iodine indices suitable for preparing coherent doughs from which chips can be made. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A unique feature of this invention is that it is not necessary to incorporate various additives such as bind ers, colorants and flavoring agents into the chips since the chips which result from practicing this invention have the flavor, texture, color, and eating qualities of conventional potato chips made by deep fat frying slices of raw potatoes. Furthermore, the chips pro duced according to the present invention contain from about 15% to about % frying fat compared with conventional chips which generally contain from about % to about 50% frying fat. This difference provides significant advantages for chips of the present inven tion in that they are less greasy and have a lower caloric content than conventional chips. The dehydrated cooked potatoes (hereinafter "dehy drated potatoes') used in the present invention can be either in flake, granular, or powdered form (potato flour). These dehydrated potato products are made by drying cooked mashed potatoes. The flakes can be made according to a number of known processes, in cluding those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,759,832, 2,780,2, and 2,787,3. The granules can also be made according to known processes, including those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,490,431 and 2,5,891. Potato flour is made by drum drying cooked mashed potatoes to a thin sheet which is then ground to the desired fineness. Dehydrated potato flakes typically have a moisture content of about 7% by weight. The potato cells in the flakes are substantially intact and thus there is a mini mum of free starch. Various stabilizers and preserva tives are usually present in the flakes in small quantities to improve the stability and texture of the flakes. For example, from about 150 to about 0 parts per million (ppm) of sulfite is provided in the dry product. This is added to the wet mash, usually as sodium sulfite and sodium bisulfite, and protects the flakes from darken ing during processing and subsequent storage. Antioxi dants such as BHA (2 and 3-tert-butyl-4-hydrox yanisole) and BHT (3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxytol uene) are added in amounts up to a total of about 10 ppm to prevent oxidative deterioration. Sodium acid pyrophosphate is added in the amount of from about 0.05% to about 0.10% to prevent after-cooking darken ing of the flakes. Citric acid is generally added in a quantity sufficient to provide about 90 ppm in the dried product to prevent discoloration caused by the pres ence of ferrous ions. Monoglycerides, such as glycerol monopalmitate or glycerol monostearate, are also added to the wet mash prior to drying and in amounts ranging from about 0.4% to about 1% by weight to improve the texture of the reconstituted mash. Dehydrated potatoes in granular form have a mois ture content of about 6% by weight and are composed 3,998, of substantially unicellular potato particles which have their cell walls intact and which are capable of passing through about a No. to about a No. 80 U.S. series sieve. The granules also have sulfite added to reduce darkening, the amount of sulfite in the finished product usually comprising between about 0-0 ppm of sulfite in the form of sodium sulfite and sodium bisul fite. Antioxidants such as BHA and BHT are added in amounts not exceeding 10 ppm of both to prevent oxidative deterioration. Potato flour is made by drying cooked mashed pota toes to a moisture level of about 6% by weight and grinding the dry product to a given particle size, gener ally from about 70 to about 180 microns. Unlike the dehydrated potato flakes and granules described above, however, potato flour is composed of substan tially 100% ruptured potato cells. Although any of the above-described forms of dehy drated potatoes (i.e., flakes, granules, or flour) can be used in practicing this invention if they meet the free starch content requirement, dehydrated potatoes hav ing a reducing sugar content between 0% and about 5.0% by weight, preferably between 0% and 2.0% by weight, must be employed to maintain the desired light color in the fried chips since an excessive reducing sugar content adversely increases the rate of browning of the chip product. While the reducing sugar content is dependent upon that of the potatoes which were employed to prepare the dehydrated potato product, the amount of reducing sugar in the dehydrated prod uct can be increased by adding suitable amounts of reducing sugars such as glucose, maltose, lactose, and the like. The reducing sugar content of the dehydrated potatoes can be decreased, if desired, by hydrating the potatoes and separating the solution from the solids. The solution will contain at least part of the reducing sugars. In extracting the excess reducing sugar in this manner some of the soluble starch will also be ex tracted and it may therefore be necessary to rupture at least a part of the potato cells to provide free starch to replace that which was extracted. If, in the course of frying, the chips reach the desired color too quickly because of too high a reducing sugar content, the char acteristic flavor of the chips will not be sufficiently developed because the frying time to reach the desired color is less than would be the case if the reducing sugar content were lower. Any dehydrated potatoes prepared from high quality potatoes can be used in this invention including Kenne bec, Russet Burbank, Idaho Russet, and Sebago pota toes, which are among the varieties that have been found to provide a good flavor in the final potato chip product. The iodine index of the dehydrated potatoes, which is a measure of the available free starch, is one of the critical factors in preparing a dough and it also has a significant influence on the texture of the chip which results from frying the dough. To determine the iodine index of a sample of dehydrated cooked potatoes, dis titled water at room temperature is added to a quantity of the dehydrated potatoes and the mixture is gently stirred for about minutes in a constant temperature bath at 50 C to completely wet the sample and hydrate the free starch. The sample is centrifuged for 10 min utes at a relative centrifugal force of about 1450 g (where g is the acceleration due to gravity) to separate the undissolved potato solids from the solution. The resulting clear starch solution is decanted through a

5 5 glass Wool plug to filter out any solids. The starch solu tion is then diluted to 10% of its initial concentration by adding distilled water. Equal volumes of diluted starch Solution and a dilute Kla solution prepared in the man ner described below are intimately intermixed to form a homogeneous solution. A separate solution compris ing equal volumes of distilled water and the dilute Kla solution is similarly prepared and is used as a blank. The two solutions are then placed in a spectrophotome ter, such as a Beckman Model B with blue phototube or equivalent, and the absorbance of the homogeneous starch solution in relation to that of the blank solution is obtained at a wavelength of 610 millimicrons using cells of 1 cm, thickness. If the absorbance is greater than 0.5 or less than 0.05 the dilution of the starch solution is adjusted by adding either additional starch solution or additional distilled water to provide an ab Sorbance between those values. The iodine index of the sample is calculated by dividing the absorbance value so obtained by the final concentration of the starch solution in terms of grams of initial dehydrated potato sample per liter of solution. A stock Kls solution is prepared by dissolving 3.8 grams of ACS grade KI and 2.54 grams of I in one liter of distilled water. The stock KIa solution is then diluted for use by adding 475 milliliters of distilled water to milliliters of the stock solution to form the dilute KI solution. Dehydrated potatoes having an iodine index of from about 0.01 to about 6 can be used to prepare a dough suitable for making formulated potato chips. Prefer ably, however, the iodine index of the dry component of the dough is from about 0.03 to about 6 in order to provide the tender eating quality which results from chips having a multiplicity of individual, expanded air cells throughout the chip structure. Dehydrated pota toes which do not have iodine indices within the re quired range but have the other necessary attributes as hereinafter discussed can be made suitable for use in the present invention by pulverizing or grinding at least a part of the dehydrated potatoes in a hammermill or other suitable comminuting device to rupture at least some of the potato cells and thereby provide free starch, which is reflected by an increase in the iodine index of the dehydrated potatoes. In addition to providing an iodine index within the range required to form a coherent dough, rupture of the potato cells in dry form by passing the dehydrated potatoes through a comminuting device also improves the flavor of the fried product. The degree of improved flavor so obtained is directly related to the degree to which the potato cells have been ruptured and once an iodine index within the dough-forming range is ob tained, further cell rupture can be provided to addition ally improve the flavor of the ultimate product. Thus, although a satisfactory product can be formed by lim ited comminution simply to provide an iodine index within the critical dough-forming range, it is preferred for flavor purposes that the dehydrated potatoes be comminuted to an extent that the iodine index is in creased by at least 50%, most preferably 100%, to a value within the range of from about 0.01 to about 6. Although the reason for the flavor improvement, so obtained is not definitely known, it is theorized that one or more flavor constituents within the potato cells may by virtue of the cell rupture be made more readily available for reaction to provide the characteristic po tato chip flavor. 3,998, Another critical factor which affects both the ability to prepare a dough and the eating qualities (especially those other than flavor) of the fried chips is the lipid content of the dehydrated potato-water mixture. The lipid content of dehydrated potatoes is usually well below about 1% but it can be increased (when desired) to any higher level by the addition of a suitable amount of fatty substances such as, for example, mono-, di-, and triglycerides of fatty acids, such as monopalmitin, monostearin, monoolein, dipalmitin, and tripalmitin, and partial fatty esters of glycols, such as propylene glycol monostearate and monobehenate. The lipid can be added to the dehydrated potatoes or it can be added to the water. It is important, however, that the lipid be uniformly dispersed in whichever component it is mixed. The maximum lipid content of the dough is about 6% by weight of the dehydrated potatoes for an iodine index of about 6. The relationship between the lipid content and the iodine index and their effect on the fried chips is shown in the accompanying graph. When the dehydrated potato-water mixture has a lipid content and the dehy drated potatoes have an iodine index which together define a point above the solid line, a coherent, work able dough suitable for forming a thin sheet cannot be made and the dehydrated potato-water mixture does not form a coherent mass. A satisfactory dough sheet can be made when the lipid content of the mixture and the iodine index of the dehydrated potatoes defines a point on or below the solid line. Such a dough sheet, when cut to provide thin, small, bite-sized pieces, can be fried to provide a tasty, crisp, chip-like food product which has a distinct potato chip flavor. For a given iodine index, decreasing the lipid content of the dehydrated potato-water mixture provides more tender chips. The tender eating quality results from the formation of a multiplicity of air cells within the chip during the frying operation. While chips which do not have a cellular structure are satisfactory from the standpoints of taste and texture, chips having some degree of air cell development are preferred because of their more tender eating quality. Chips having the pre ferred cellular structure, and thus the desired tender eating qualities, can be prepared with dehydrated pota to-water mixtures having lipid contents and iodine indi ces which define points on or below the dashed lines on the graph. The relationship between the lipid content and the iodine index as represented by the solid line in the accompanying graph is expressed mathematically as follows: Y= 2.70 x where Y dehydrated potato-water lipid content in percent by weight of dehydrated potatoes, and X F dehydrated potato iodine index which ranges from about 0.01 to about 6. The general relationship between lipid content and iodine index defining the dehydrated potato properties necessary to form a coherent dough sheet suitable for making fried chips is where A s 2.70

6 7 This relationship defines the area under the solid line in the accompanying graph. The area under the dashed lines in the graph defines the lipid contents and iodine indices which provide coherent doughs and which when fried result in chips having the preferred air cell development. This area is defined by the following relationships: For Y S 1.5, where B =.92 for X at 1.5 Ys C X0.31 where C is 2. Two equations are necessary to define this area be cause of the discontinuity in the dashed line at an io dine index of 1.5 The water added to the dehydrated potato compo nent of the mixture is preferably heated, but water which is at room temperature can also be used. The water and dehydrated potatoes are uniformly mixed in, for example, a Hobart vertical, planetary, paddle mixer until the water is evenly dispersed throughout the dough and the potatoes have been uniformly rehy drated. Heated water results in a dough which is easier to roll into thin sheets. Preferably the dough is at a temperature of from about 80 F to about 170 F before it is rolled into sheets. The total moisture content of the dough (including the moisture content of the dehy drated potatoes) can range from about % to about % by weight and is preferably from about % to about 45% by weight to provide a dough which can be easily rolled into thin sheets. Although commercially available dehydrated potatoes have about 7% moisture, dehydrated potatoes having from 0% to about % moisture are also suitable. After the dough is prepared it can be formed into suitable shapes which can be deep fat fried to provide the potato chip products of the present invention. The sizes and shapes of the chips into which the dough can be formed are endlessly variable. A conventional po tato chip made from a slice of raw potato can be very closely simulated by passing the dough between spaced mill rolls to form a sheet of dough ranging in thickness from about inch to about 0.1 inch, and prefer ably from about inch to about 0.02 inch. The dough sheet so formed can be cut into elliptical pieces having the approximate size and shape of sliced pota toes and then fried in conventional chip frying appara tus. Alternatively, apparatus such as that described in the co-pending application of Alexander L. Liepa, enti tled "Method of and Apparatus for Preparing Chip Type Products," Ser. No. 683,083, filed Oct. 31, 1967, can be used to produce uniformly shaped chips. In order to provide potato chips of the present inven tion which have a surface conformation and shape similar to conventional chips made by frying thin slices of raw potatoes, it is preferred that the frying be per formed with the chips constrained between a pair of 3, closely-fitting, similarly configured shaping molds which have apertures to permit the hot frying fat to come into intimate contact with the dough. The afore mentioned copending patent application describes one form of suitable shaping molds. Although the dough formulations herein described are particularly suited for preparing molded chips by constraining them dur ing the frying operation, it is not necessary that the frying be performed with the dough in a constrained condition and satisfactory chips can be produced by passing unconstrained cut dough pieces through hot frying fat. The frying operation can be carried out with the frying fat at a temperature of from about 275 F to about 0 F, but is preferably performed at a fattem perature of from about 315 F to about 375 F. Any edible cooking oil or shortening is a suitable medium for frying the chips. While conventional chips made from sliced raw potatoes require a frying time of from about 1 to about 3 minutes, chips of the thickness above disclosed and made according to the present invention can be fried in from about 5 to about seconds, preferably from about 5 to about seconds. The principal factor which influences the frying time is the color of the fried chip, which is primarily afunction of the reducing sugar content of the dehydrated pota toes. Among the other factors which affect chip color are the thickness of the chip, the temperature of the frying oil, and the type of oil used., It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that vari ous other ingredients can be included in the dough prepared according to the present invention. For exam ple, emulsifiers, flavor imparting substances, colorants, preservatives, antioxidants, and the like can be added but are not necessary. The following examples of the invention, while not intended to be taken as limiting the scope thereof, will serve to illustrate the compositions of and the processes for making the potato chips of the present invention. Unless otherwise indicated in the examples, all percent ages are based on weight. In all the examples, the io dine indices and lipid contents of the dehydrated pota to-water mixtures define points on or below the solid line on the accompanying graph and obey the relation ship Y=AX', where Y is the dehydrated potato-water mixture lipid content in percent by weight of dehy drated potatoes, X is the dehydrated potato iodine index, and A is less than or equal to EXAMPLE grams of dehydrated cooked potato flakes hav ing an average reducing sugar content of about 1.5% were pulverized in a Model PB-5A Waring Blender for 8 minutes at the high speed setting to provide pulver ized flakes having an iodine index of 1.47, with the particles having a maximum size capable of passing through a No. 50 U.S. series sieve. The flakes con tained 5.3% water, 0.8% lipid, and a total of about 0.2% of sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium sulfite, citric acid, BHA, and BHT. 4.6 grams of lipid in the form of commercially available mono-, di-, and triglyc erides were added to grams of boiling water in a suitable vessel. The mono-di-, and triglycerides were prepared by superglycerinating soybean oil to obtain a mixture of mono-, di-, and triglycerides comprising about % monoglycerides, about % diglycerides, and about % triglycerides and having an Iodine Value of. The lipid was permitted to melt in the

7 3,998, boiling water, which was agitated by hand stirring the The following examples were prepared as described mixture for about one minute to completely disperse in Example 1 by pulverizing dehydrated potato flakes the added material. The pulverized flakes were inti- and adding various amounts of lipid. The resulting mately intermixed with the water/mono- and diglycer- dough was formed into sheets, cut into pieces, and fried ide mixture in a Hobart Model C-100 vertical, plane- 5 as in Example 1. The handling properties of the dough tary paddle mixer by slowly adding the boiling water - sheet are characterized as tough, good, fair, sticky,, mono- and diglyceride mixture to the pulverized dehy- tender, fragile, and poor in descending order of ease of drated potatoes to provide a dough having a total mois- handling of the thin sheet. The degree of air cell devel ture content of %. The combination was intimately opment in the fried chips is characterized as good, blended at a mixer speed of rpm for four minutes to 10 slight, and none, in descending order. TABLE I Dehydrated Potatoes Dough eight of Weight Dough Air Cell Added Dehydrated O Sheet Development % % Iodine Lipid % Potatoes Water Handling in Example Lipid Water Index (grams) Lipid (grams) (grams) Properties Fried Chips Good Good Good Good Fair None Tough Good :370 Sticky Good Poor None Fragile None Fragile None Tender Good completely rehydrate the potatoes and form a workable dough. The lipid content of the combination was 1.52% EXAMPLES 11 and 12 based on the weight of the dehydrated potatoes and the The following Examples represent the dehydrated mono-, di-, and triglycerides. The dough so formed was potato and dough conditions for chips that were pre at a temperature of 115 F and was passed between the pared as described in Example 1. Pulverization of the rolls of a two-roll mill, which had 12-inch diameter dehydrated potatoes was performed in a hammermill chromeplated steel rolls spaced to provide a coherent, comminuting device to provide two different degrees of easy to handle dough sheet which had a thickness of cell rupture as indicated by the iodine index and the inch. The dough sheet was immediately cut into chips prepared from these doughs were fried for 11.2 substantially elliptical pieces which had a major diame- seconds at 3 F: TABLE II DEHYDRATED POTATOES DOUGH igh eight Iodine Index Added Weight of. % % (After Lipid % dehydrated... Water EXAMPLE Lipid Water Pulverization) (grams) Lipid potatoes (grams) (grams) l The resulting chips were of excellent color, texture, ter of about 3.0 inches and a minor diameter of about 45 eating quality, and appearance. 2.0 inches. The pieces were then deep fat fried for 7 Although the present invention has been described seconds in a cottonseed-based frying oil which was and illustrated with reference to specific examples, it maintained at a temperature of 0 F. The resulting will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various fried product was a tasty, crisp, chip-type food product changes and modifications can be made without de which was then salted uniformly over one surface to 50 parting from the spirit and scope of the invention and it provide a chip having 2% salt. The taste, texture, color, is intended to cover in the appended claims all such eating quality, and appearance of the product resem- changes and modifications that are within the scope of bled that of conventional potato chips made by frying this invention. sliced raw potatoes but had a fat content of about % What is claimed is: as compared with about % fat typical of conven- 1. A process for preparing potato chip of tender tional potato chips. eating quality characterized by a multiplicity of individ When the amount of water in the dough of the above ual expanded air cells, said chip being made from a example is adjusted to produce doughs having total dough comprising dehydrated cooked potatoes and moisture contents of % and % by weight and the water, said process comprising the steps of adjusting resulting dough is sheeted, cut, fried, and salted as the iodine index and adjusting the lipid content of said described above, substantially similar results are ob-, dehydrated potatoes to provide a lipid content and an tained in that the resulting chips resemble conventional iodine index which are defined by points within the potato chips which have been deep fat fried. cross-hatched area of FIG. 1, intimately admixing When propylene glycol monostearate is substituted water with said dehydrated cooked potatoes to form a for the mono-, di-, and triglyceride mixture of Example coherent workable dough comprising from % to % 1, substantially similar results are obtained in that the water by weight, said dough being free of non-potato resulting chips resemble potato chips made by deep fat binder materials, forming said dough into chip-like frying slices of raw potato. pieces, and frying said pieces until they are crisp.

8 11 2. The process of claim 1 wherein said dough has a water content of from % to 45% by weight. 3. The process of claim 1 wherein the iodine index of said dehydrated potatoes is adjusted by comminuting said dehydrated potatoes in dry form. 4. The process of claim 3 wherein the lipid content of said dehydrated potatoes is adjusted by adding lipid to said dehydrated potatoes. 5. The process of claim 1 wherein the lipid content of said dehydrated potatoes is adjusted by adding lipid to said dehydrated potatoes. 6. A process of preparing a potato chip of tender eating quality characterized by a multiplicity of individ ual expanded air cells, said chip being made from a dough comprising dehydrated cooked potatoes and water, said process comprising: adjusting the iodine index and the lipid content of said dehydrated potatoes to provide a lipid content and an iodine index which are defined by points within the cross-hatched area of FIG. 1, intimately admixing water with said dehydrated cooked potatoes to form a coherent workable dough comprising from % to % water by weight, said dough being free of non-potato binder materials, roll ing said dough into a flat sheet, forming said flattened sheet into shaped pieces, and frying said flattened dough pieces until they are crisp. 3,998, The process of claim 6 wherein said dough has a water content of from % to 45% by weight. 8. A process for preparing a potato chip of tender eating quality characterized by a multiplicity of individ ual expanded air cells, said chip being made from a dough comprising dehydrated cooked potatoes and water, said process comprising the steps of adjusting the iodine index of said dehydrated potatoes, intimately admixing water with said dehydrated cooked potatoes to form a coherent workable dough comprising from % to % water by weight, adjusting the lipid con tent thereof by adding lipid to said dough to provide a lipid content and an iodine index therein which are defined by points within the cross-hatched area of FIG. 1, said dough being free of non-potato binder materials, forming said dough into chip-like pieces, and frying said pieces until they are crisp. 9. The process of claim 8 wherein the iodine index of said dehydrated potatoes is adjusted by comminuting said dehydrated potatoes in dry form. 10. The potato chip product produced by the process of claim The potato chip product produced by the process of claim 8. ck s k k 45 50